Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Megadeath

Birds of Prey (2023)

by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero (illustrator), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

The Birds of Prey are back, breaking hearts and breaking faces with the most intimidating lineup in team history—including Black Canary and Harley Quinn!

Every mission matters. Every life saved is a miracle. But this time, it's personal.

Dinah Lance is one of the DC Universe’s most elite fighters, and combined with her sonic scream, she's a fearsome foe in any scenario...but sometimes even the Black Canary needs help.

Faced with a personal mission brought to her by a mysterious new ally, and up against near-impossible odds, she re-forms the Birds of Prey with an unrivaled group of badasses—Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot, and Harley Quinn—and only one goal: extraction without bloodshed. What could possibly go wrong?

Kelly Thompson (Captain Marvel, Black Widow) makes her long-awaited DC Universe writing debut, and is joined by her Hawkeye collaborators Leonardo Romero (Batman) and Jordie Bellaire (Wonder Woman) to debut an all-new, all-deadly Birds of Prey series, taking the team all the way to Themyscira for the battle of their lives!

This volume collects Birds of Prey #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2024

About the author

KELLY THOMPSON has a degree in Sequential Art from The Savannah College of Art & Design. Her love of comics and superheroes have compelled her since she first discovered them as a teenager. Currently living in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend and the two brilliant cats that run their lives, you can find Kelly all over the Internet where she is generally well liked, except where she's detested.

Kelly has published two novels - THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (2012) and STORYKILLER (2014) and the graphic novel HEART IN A BOX from Dark Horse Comics (2015). She's currently writing ROGUE & GAMBIT, HAWKEYE, and PHASMA for Marvel Comics and GHOSTBUSTERS for IDW. Other major credits include: A-Force, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, Jem and The Holograms, Misfits, Power Rangers Pink, and the creator-owned mini-series Mega Princess.

Kelly's ambitions are eclipsed only by her desire to exist entirely in pajamas. Fortunately pajamas and writers go hand in hand (most of the time). Please buy all her stuff so that she can buy (and wear) more pajamas.

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Canary has to put together a new team to go on a potentially suicidal mission, so she gathers a team of hard-hitters. I really like the artwork by Leonardo Romero in this. His artwork is used for 5 out of the 6 issues in this collection. His art has a classic look and it is easy to read his layouts of action. There is one issue drawn by Arist Deyn. Deyn has a very anime inspired look, which is a bit jarring when contrasted with Romero's more retro style. Deyn's is not as good at drawing action, so those scenes are a bit hard to follow in the issue that they drew. Interestingly, the quality of the writing seems to dip in the Deyn issue even though all of the issues were written by Kelly Thompson.

Overall, it is worth reading this for the 5 issues drawn by Leonardo Romero.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really liked this one. It felt great to be getting in on the ground floor of a new team book. Great line-up, great story, great artwork… mostly.

This would have been a five star rating from me if it weren’t for the fill-in artist on issue five and the ugly, dayglo colour palette.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generic superhero fare.

Black Canary needs to rescue her sister (news to me that she has a sister) so she assembles a new Birds of Prey team. The author tries several times to have the characters tell us how awesome and a-list this team is, but to me they are just another gathering of second-tier capes from around the DCU.

The adventure and character interaction are fine, but they don't stand out either.

And for some reason, while most of the chapters are drawn by Leonardo Romero, the fifth chapter is drawn by Arist Deyn, an artist whose style is an interesting but very jarring departure from the rest of the book.

I'd probably pick up the next volume if I came across it at the library, but I won't be actively seeking it out.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of badass women doing what they do best!

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

liked the feel of this ...as well as the story.
Black Canary gathers an eccentric group of heroines to go to Themyscira...where the Amazon's are holding her Sister..
that puts her in conflict with W.Woman.

the art gives it a feel of 60s Batman TV show and it was all fresh and very readable

[Chantaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my way of reading DC, which is just picking out random titles from my library, this was a great introduction and re-introduction to this new Birds of Prey team.

The only major downside was Leonardo Romero not drawing issue #5. The switch from the art that evokes old school comics with Jordie Bellaire's muted coloring to a vibrant anime style (Big eyes! Pouty lips! Straight-haired Diana!) was absolutely jarring.

I'll be continuing on, I'm very curious to see where this story and team goes.

[ShamNoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a ton of fun. I LOVE the retro style art, and Kelly Thompson is one of the best writers at either Marvel or DC right now. Every character works in the team dynamic and gets a spotlight. It’s great, I want a thousand issues of this.

[Vinicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu estava muito empolgado por esse lançamento da @paniniconics, desde que a serie foi anunciada pela DC nos Estados Unidos. Eu até cogitei comprar as edições gringas, mas ainda bem que a Panini anunciou por aqui.

Logo que a equipe foi anunciada na primeira edição, ja me interessei demais pela HQ, pois a Cassandra Cain é minha Batgirl favorita, e eu adoro a Grande Barda.

No quesito da trama, ela é basica e bem feita. Não tenta ser algo inovador, mas tambem não compromete.

Na história, acompanhamos a Dinah precisando montar uma equipe para realizar uma missão de resgate, que de início, não sabemos todos os detalhes, apenas que a refem é a Sin.

Por conta dessa missão, a Canario monta uma equipe badass (e bem inusitada), composta pela Grande Barda, Arlequina, Cassandra Cain e Devota. (Formação que impõe medo em qualquer um, diga-se de passagem)

Embora seja uma missão de resgate, o desenvolvimento da trama lembra bastante um heist e/ou até mesmo uma missao de RPG, tendo em vista que o grupo possui personagens tão distintas, com personagens específicas que podem ter suas habilidades associadas a Ladino, Bárbaro, Guerreiro, etc.

Retomando a história, eu não vou entrar em detalhes sobre onde a Sin está e de quem ela precisa ser resgatada, pois é engraçado ver a reação da equipe quando a Dinah dá esses detalhes.

Por ser uma trama genérica, mas bem executada, é uma história ok das Aves de Rapina, mas que se torna boa e divertida por conta das interações entre as companheiras de equipe. O diferencial de ter uma equipe composta por uma heroína mais séria, como a Barda, uma doida, igual a Arlequina, e uma trevosa, igual a Cassandra, promove diálogos engraçados e inesperados, que cativam muito o leitor.

Assim, acredito que o grande potencial dessa HQ é a composição da equipe e suas relações, que tornam o gibi tão interessante e divertido de ser lido.

Ainda, é importante destacar os desenhos do brasileiro Leonardo Romero, que estão presentes em 5 das 6 edições que compõem o encadernado. O traço dele combina muito com a trama mais descontraída, e representa muito bem as personagens. Inclusive, a edição 5 que não é desenhada por ele, sofre muito com a queda de qualidade. O desenhista da edição possui um traço bem diferente do Leonardo.

Por fim, minha única ressalva é em relação a vilã final da trama, que acaba sendo generica até demais e possui inconsistências em suas motivações. Não me comprou essa ideia da Megéra.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, the only annoying thing is I can't find volume 2 yet. I really enjoyed Kelly Thompson's run on the Black Widow, and I thought that was cut short too early. I enjoyed this book just as much, if not more. The only other criticism I have is the artwork was not my favourite (not bad in any way), it does give the book an old-school feel to it (I am talking about issues/chapter 1-4, and 6. 5 I really liked).

Black Canary (Dinah Lance) has a personal mission of great importance, but she is going to need help. So she recruits one of the most scary/deadliest Birds of Prey teams ever. They will make every trick, skill, and violent tendency.

I really hope the series continues, anywhere in the DC universe. I really hope Kelly Thompson gets to write it. Good story, lots of action "fight like a girl is definitely a compliment" Ronda Rousey. Plus, a mystery to come. Next volume, please!!!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly Thompson reboots Birds of Prey with a very unexpected group of characters. Between the C-lister stars and the mid-century artwork, you might think Tom King's name would be on the cover. Megadeath follows the King format at first, with Black Canary getting the band together in funny, intriguing ways. Then the main plot kicks in (extract Dinah's sister Sin from Themyscira) and the book becomes much more punchy-punchy perfunctory. Plus, the ultimate villain is a real dud (am I supposed to know or be scared of Megaera?).

Still, it's a solid read overall. The characters shine throughout, particularly Zealot, Barda, and Harley Quinn. Thompson's portrayal of Harley has to be one of my favorites - it seems particularly hard to get this zany anti-hero right.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

much more fun than i expected it to be! black canary needs to rescue her sister from some dumb malevolent plot on themyscira, so she collects big barda (lucky i read tom king’s scott free), zennah (who?), maps (who?), cass cain (current batgirl), and...harley quinn (ik). i was a little unsure abt how harley wld fit in bc she rlly is a wild card and veers towards headache-inducing in many of her appearances, but i found her super charming in this. i think putting her into a group filled with self-serious, overly-zen assassins does a lot to boost her star factor. the art is also so cutely quaint, romero’s soft linework and bellaire’s tropical pastels are perfect together. i will say there are some glaring plot holes that bothered me (messy time travel, the rather pathetic excuse to not loop in diana), but...😣 i’ll forgive it ☺️

[Alex A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun adventure with an interesting team. I really liked the retro aesthetic and the garish, vibrant colours.

The characters were well done - this is the best-written, least annoying version of Harley I've read for many years.

The greatest misstep is issue #5 - it feels like a rushed/last-minute replacement. Arist Deyn's art is jarring and sloppy, the story progression feels separated from the surrounding issues, and even some of the characters 'sound' different. (ie. Magaera's modern sarcasm)

[Ginnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one issue drawn by the different artist is a jarring shift in visual style, makes it hard to comprehend, and makes every single character look like a Bratz doll… other than that it’s fun! Harley and Black Bat in the same issue is v entertaining to me.

[tyrosine · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so fun, I love a ragtag team of fierce women. there was a random art style change near the end that completely threw me off, but it returned to normal AND I HAD FUN WOO

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This definitely could’ve been a lot better. I just have to say that with the little I’ve read that Kelly Thompson has written I’m still not understanding all the hype surrounding her. So far she has been average and nothing else. Also, anytime a story uses time shenanigans and does the whole “I can’t disclose anything because reasons” it is almost always a stupid idea and has a billion plot holes.

To top it all off the whole reasoning with not asking Wonder Woman for help ended up being obsolete. Thompson only wanted to use that as a reason to have the team fight her. Stupid. If you use any logical thinking in this you would know not asking her for help made no sense. Why would she say no? If you tried to use the excuse of what was happening in her book it wouldn’t matter since it didn’t even remotely affect the plot so using that as an argument wouldn’t make sense.

3 stars because it wasn’t bad enough to be a 2 and not anywhere near good enough to be a 4.

[Shawn Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a LOT of fun, and I honestly hope most of this team sticks together. I did feel like the conclusion final 2 chapters or so rushed things a bit, but that's ok.

One of the end chapters features a different artist. The art is still quite good, but it's a very different style and did take me out of the book for a minute.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A escritora Kelly Thompson e o desenhista brasileiro Leonardo Romero já tinham trabalhado junto nas histórias da Gaviã Arqueira Kate Bishop, pela Marvel, que demoraram anos para serem publicadas no Brasil. Também com um certo atraso chegaram as histórias das Aves de Rapina, pela mesma dupla, mas com uma colorização estranha emulando erros de registo por Jordie Bellaire. Entretanto esse e outro problemas da edição não tiram a ótima experiência que foi ler este encadernado. Trata-se de uma missão em que Canário Negro forma um time de mulheres heroínas para resgatar sua irmã, Sin, da ilha de Themyscira. As personagens são muito bem trabalhadas tanto visual como conceitualmente, e o enredo é bem elaborado e não decepciona. O que tira um pouco o gostinho legal da trama é ter uma pessoa artista com um estilo totalmente nada a ver com o de Romero para fazer a edição cinco. O estilo é de pin-up de mulheres de mangá. Foi uma baita bola fora da pessoa editora original. que poderia te escalado um desenhista mais similar ao estilo do brasileiro. Mas, como eu disse, a história é tão boa que mesmo essas coisas não estragam a experiência.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

girl power

[this_eel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like probably a 3.5 but oh my goodness what a team up. It’s an interesting grouping of characters and lbr all woman dc teams make me forget men exist. You want me to think about boy robins when I’m looking directly at Dinah’s leg? Insane.

The story was fun and I want to see more of it! I’m not sure it’s pushing any envelopes but points are awarded to any dc comic since 2009 that doesn’t either repulse me with its grotesque nihilism or be a Webtoon so declawed that it’s basically a plushy.

Again: great team. I love Harley but in her modern era she can be deeply annoying and she was only a little annoying! Cassandra Cain is a perfect character and in this book everyone knows it. Great Dinah, and I have to accept that the there’s nothing to be done about her romantic life. Barda a real stand out for me. Love me a Barda. Big. I liked the rest of the team too! Barda was favorite.

Art wise: loved every page of Leonardo Romero’s issues. His movement is natural, his layouts are tight, I love his faces and the slightly softer body angles he gives characters. This all imo excuses that he barely puts in backgrounds lol. I like to look at the characters when he does them and that is a lovely experience.

Arist Deyn’s issue nearly knocked a star off just for turning the characters into an array of malnourished childlike yet sexualized fashion doll sketches. The pages don’t scan and the style makes me recoil. Hated it. Was glad when it ended.

Overall, an okay book that I liked pretty well and I would read another!

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a good enough story being told here, but it's held back by a lot of unnecessary exposition and weak dialogue and characterization. These are colorful, distinguished characters with lots of history, yet they're being written as all largely bland and interchangeable as they stand around and tell each other what the plot is. I am normally not one for team books (characters often get too lost in the shuffle of plot for my taste), but Kelly Thompson does her best to nail the dynamics here, keeping it lively and fun while balancing the plot-heavy drive. As someone who’s been trying to get more into BoP this was really good. Great ending to a really fun first arc. This series is a lot of fun, and the art by Romero and Bellaire continues to be absolutely stellar.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 The premise of this was kind of dumb and really confusing, but what makes BoP books are the relationships. Barda and Cass, Zannah and Dinah, Harley and... everyone. And Babs. I don't love everyone tearing up Themyscira, or that the damsel in this was kind of whatever, and man I could not care less about Maps, but I'm interested to see what happens next.

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the mix of characters and I liked the basic plot of going to Amazon Island to save Canary's sister, but there was a bit too much standing around. I mean, you add Wonder Woman then have her do nothing but use her lasso. The art however is winner! Would read another trade by this team.

[Belfry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

[Melia Glubka · Rating 5 out of 5]

i will read anything this creative team puts out

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado lo que Kelly Thompson hace con esta historia. Una presentación de los personajes y de las dinámicas entre ellas mientras ayudan a la fundadora Canario Negro a rescatar a su hermana, en manos de las amazonas y a punto de ser destruida por una entidad desconocida. Hay sus misterios, sus encuentros y desencuentros, sus cameos (Green Arrow vs Wonder Woman), con un tono ligero muy jugoso. Ayuda mucho un Leonardo Romero al que he disfrutado mucho en su evolución del estilo de Darwyn Cooke, con una narrativa sobre la cual merece la pena detenerse para degustar las composiciones de viñetas... aunque a veces se atasque un poco. La resolución, muy en la línea de "Lo mejor que podemos hacer", de Tiptree Jr., abunda en el tono juvenil de la historia que busca acercarse a jóvenes lectoras que no sé si estarán ahí. Lo más flojo, sin duda, el número dibujado por Arist Deyn. Me ha llevado a preguntarme en qué piensan algunos editores cuando buscan un artista para completar un arco argumental en el cuál el dibujante principal va a fallar un número; no necesitamos un clon pero sí alguien que, al menos, no se dé de hostias con su estilo. Y Deyn es a Romero como Sana Takeda a Bruce Timm.

[Kate]

Multiple people recommended this series when I told them I missed Rainbow Rowell’s She Hulk run and wanted something else that was similarly fun. I did really like Leonardo Romero’s art, but I had a hard time actually reading the book. I’m not 100% sure why that is—I’m not super familiar with some of the characters which probably hindered things—but it also just seemed like all the characters kinda talked and acted in the same way? Not sure. Anyway, not my favorite but a cute-looking book!

[Sina Tavousi Masrour · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started well but I lost interest by the end. The art style is amazing and I would read it just for that (except for issue #5). The whole thing is a bit generic but at least the writing is good.

I hated that they changed the artist for issue #5. That was totally a vibe killer. I wish to never see that art again. I despise art that gives every character the same look.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Birds are probably my favourite team, no matter the iteration. This version has Dinah in charge and the first story is a corker (even though there was a lot of backstory I’m unfamiliar with). Looking forward to volume 2.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Focus is Barbara with Cass on front. We are so seated.

[Heather - Just Geeking By · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story, but not a fan of the retro-style art